Any good websites or books out there for help with frame-off restorations? I've been thinking it would make for a good winter project, after winterizing the garage. I'm not looking to go back to original, just want to freshen up the frame, and front and rear ends. Any tips from those that have done the same. What kind of time and money did you invest? What did it do for the value of the car?

 

hav e you consulted a psychiatrist . ..?

just kidding . . . have you looked at the factory assembly manuals?

 

I did a frame-on. Its the lazy way but a lot harder really and you don't get 100% of the frame. You can spend up to $6-7K redoing the chassis if you farm out work. You may get away with as little as $2500 if you do a lot of work yourself. I didn't really want to muck around with T-Arms, rear ends, gearboxs or bushings. I sent almost everything that bolted on to Van Steel and then bolted it all back on. No regrets. While they made my stuff look new I sandblasted the frame and put 5 coats of POR-15 + Chassis Coat on the frame. Looks like new.

There is a book on Frame restoration. Cannot remember who wrote it but you can find it at the big vette vendors and Amazon (Anthony Trippovich or something like that). It covers the frame only does not cover pullint the body or anything like that. Noland Adams has some excellent books on earlier vettes but nothing on C3s. C2s have a similar chassis of course but there are subtle differnces.

It would add vale to the car but realistically you will never get back the time you put into the job. I figure at least 1-2 months FULL TIME to pull a body, restore a frame and put a body back on. There will be lots of surprises along the way also.

Question really is how bad do you want to do it? How bad do you NEED to do it? At least with a Frame-On you can do the work in stages.

Good Luck,

Pete

 

My advice in this area (I'm experienced) is that a body-off
restoration should be done for one of two reasons:
1 - Rare vette that will be worth mega bux if fully and properly restored
2 - You are commited (hehe - good pun) to restoring and keeping
your vette for a long long time.

If you see yourself selling her in the future - don't bother.

I am on year 3 - taking my time - spending extra money when I can.
I will finally be driving a vette again this summer.
It's a big commitment to follow through on and you will miss your baby.

The up-side is that I am confident that I will be driving her for a very
long time before any troubles come back.

 

If you're not restoring the car to original, I don't think that a frame off will add much more value than doing your work frame-on. As far as expense and time, figure 3X the estimated amount of time and money that you calculate up front. Once you start a frame-off and you begin replacing parts, you will not want to reinstall an older used part next to a brand new piece. The costs and time associated with this rise very quickly. You'll uncover things that need attention where you least expect them.

 

The term "good winter project" cracked me up.

Like NHVette... I speak from experience as I'm in the middle of one. Doing a '79. His reasons are pretty good. I don't expect the car to appreciate considerably when I'm finished... but I expect to keep it a long time. If you do a body off resto.... rest assured... it's no "winter project". It will take a considerable amount of time, assuming you really do it right. I'm on year two. Hope to have it completed, for the most part (excluding paint) by the end of the year... and that might be ambitious.

Another comment mentioned already that is dead-on... estimate how much you think it will cost.... then multiply by 3. You'll be in the ball-park.

 

I'm also in year #2 of a frame off ('79) that started as an engine and a rear end rebuild for a daily driver. I'm caught up in the new vs old part mentallity. This is my first major (frame off or otherwise) car project. I rely on the shop manuals, the internet, and THIS FORUM ( ) for help. Other than needing my head examined everything is going pretty well. As long as you are mechanically inclined you should have no problem doing a frame off restoration (except for all the cash you are going to spend)

 

I believe that my car was made to be driven and over the past 11 years I have replaced everything needed to keep it that way. I would take on a project every year as long as it had to be done. I know I have a lot more $$ in the car then I could get if I tried to sell it but I don't. I have documented the big stuff a long the way so check out my web sites.

 

one word of advice, get some baggies, zip locks, for bolts and nuts and label each one, will make your live much easier during assembly time. Take lots and lots of digitals for refence...the rest is rust removal, paint, and chassis assembly....don't forget to do the body channels, they rust as well.

 

No matter how confident you are that you'll remember how it went together later on, you won't. The AIM is helpful but won't show you everything.

In my case, a frame off was the only way to go. Had I just repaired one thing at a time, I think I would have gotten frustrated with the car nickel and diming me as well as fixing all of Bubba's messes. With a frame-off and total rebuild I can look forward to some trouble free motoring time and as close to a new '68 as I could possibly come.

Be realistic about your finances, garage space, and abilities, though.

 

I've done some frame on restoration already. Last summer I cleaned up every inch of frame I could reach from under the car and then coated it with por 15. As I mentioned, the suspension and steering still need attention. I'm kind of a perfectionist, so I'd like to do it right and go with a frame off, but the car is far from original, new motor, etc. I guess I'm just looking to keep the car in good shape, so I can enjoy it without worrying about something falling apart. For the most part, I've been able to do that with help from the forum, motorheads from work and the service manuals I've picked up along the way. The one thing I do know is that I don't want the car to be in pieces for the next 2 years when I could've been driving it. So maybe I'll just stick with the weekend projects for now.

Thanks for the comments guys.